Last weekend we had a rare, nearly sunny, break in the Pacific Northwest drizzle to enjoy the first annual Bellingham Bay Rendezvous. The rendezvous gave the local community a chance to tour small charter vessels that run throughout the Puget Sound, the Inland Passage and all the way up to Alaska.
It was also the welcome celebration for the 127-ft schooner Zodiac to its new homeport of Bellingham, Wash. Previously it called Lake Union in Seattle home. The Zodiac is a gaff-rigged schooner and a Coast Guard certified tall ship. It was built in 1924 as a private yacht for the Johnson & Johnson heirs and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's main mast is over twelve stories high and the Zodiac has the largest working mainsail on the north coast.
Six other restored charter boats, both motor and sail vessels, were on hand for tours as well as two U.S. Coast Guard small boats. All that and sea chanties, food and good coffee. This is why I love Bellingham!